Invisible Enemies
by LaughingInvisibleShadow
Summary: Dan and Amy Cahill are on the hunt for the 39 Clues, already having found the 38th. Will they be the first to get all 39? And the story of Madeleine Cahill is finally uncovered, find out what really happened with the founder of the Madrigals. Read!
1. Chapter 1

Invisible Enemies

By LaughingInvisibleShadow

**Chapter 1**

17-year-old Amy grinned, a thing she virtually never did anymore. She held, in her ordinary Boston-originated hands, the 38th Clue in the hunt for the 39 Clues. She felt her feet quivering with excitement, (or maybe it was the cold from standing in Antarctica at Vostok Station, where the temperature reached below 120 degrees Fahrenheit,) and she allowed her feet to lead her body in a small happy dance.

"Amy! Did you get the Clue?" Dan, her little, soon-to-be 14 year old brother cried out, still quite far down, trying to fight the harsh winds.

"Dan! YES! I have it! I have i-" She broke off as she saw a dark figure approaching. From her left, opposite of the way Dan was coming. She ran through possibilities in her head. Maybe it was just a scientist. Vostok Station, a Russian research station, where 15-25 scientists reside year-round, established in 1957, and-. She mentally slapped herself. Why would the clue be placed in some ordinary research station? She ran outside, and stopped at the porch. Her eyes combed every inch of the doorway and the area surrounding it. To an ordinary person, the medium sized faint stain on the right top next to the door would just be some mildew stain or something.

But she knew better. She ran closer, and scrutinized it. It was-oh, no. They had to get out of here. The sign was a large "M". The Madrigal symbol. She corrected herself. OUR symbol. True, she and Dan WERE Madrigals, but still, she didn't want to take a chance. And the dark figure was getting slowly closer. She stuffed the small box containing the Clue into her coat pocket, and ran to Dan. She got to him quickly, and pulled him up, dragging him back to the tent where they were camping with Nellie, their au pair. They arrived the tent in record time, struggling against the fierce snowstorm and battling the wind.

"Whoa, little dudes! What happened?" Nellie said, her iPod earbuds dangling from the inside of her fur-lined parka.

"Well, Amy went psycho on me, and dragged me through the snow back here." Dan told her, looking at Amy with an amused expression on his face.

"I-saw-man-black," Amy told them both, huffing and panting from her run. She glanced outside of the tent, looking for the person clad in black. She couldn't see them, but that didn't mean it wasn't safe.

"Okay, I got the clue, now we have to get out of here. It's not safe. Vostok Station is a Madrigal stronghold, we have to leave." Amy told them both, trying to remain calm.

"Okay, guys, I was going to tell you this later, but I'm going to tell you now. I've been feeling like you two are getting really stressed out, so I booked three tickets for Boston where you two are going to take a well deserved break." Nellie looked at them, her nose ring not helping her look gentler, and she had a fierce expression on her face that even Dan didn't want to argue with.

"Come on. We have to get to Sky Blu."

* * * * *

Sky Blu, was, in all aspects, virtually the only airstrip in Antarctica where their plane would take them back to the US. They had boarded the plane, where they had learned that they would be trapped on the small piece of metal for 6 hours until they reached some small city in Venezuela to refuel, then in Boston. They had not seen the pilot at all; he had simply retreated to the cabin and taken off without a word to any of his three passengers. She had caught a glimpse of his size, and he looked about as tall as Amy, maybe a few inches taller.

They were only 2 hours in and Dan was already bored. Nellie had confiscated the small box containing the clue, and had demanded that Dan and Amy get some rest. She had promptly fallen asleep, her iPod on full blast, sleeping through it all. The box was resting in her lap, with her hands clutching it like she was a drowning woman and the box was her life preserver. She had warned them both that if either of them touched the box she would cut off their hands and feed them to her pet goldfish.

Nellie scared them at times.

Both of them had looked at the box for thirty minutes, trying to figure out the best way to get the box from her without her waking up. They couldn't afford to grab it because for the past one and a half hours, the plane had been going through turbulence, and shaking Nellie some more would not help the mission.

Dan, after analyzing the situation, took something out of his back pocket and crept towards Nellie. The object was a small feather, which he used to tickle Nellie's nose. As a reflex, her hands went up to her face, with her still asleep. Quick as a flash, Dan grabbed the box from her lap and ran back to his seat.

Amy let out the breath she had been holding, and tip-toed over to Dan, who was scrutinizing the small metal box. He pulled something from his bottomless pit-like pockets, which turned out to be a chocolate bar and his Swiss Army knife.

"Hey, where did you get that chocolate bar?" Amy asked her brother, her stomach growling.

"I picked it up in Switzerland. I doubt there's going to be a flight attendant on his crummy plane, so I'm going to eat it right now." He broke the bar into half and stuffed his half into his mouth, and gave Amy the other half.

He fit his Swiss Army knife into the crack of the box, and inserted pressure on it.

After a few tries, the box popped open, and the two stared at what was inside. A small box containing several clumps of some green plant were inside, as well as a yellow piece of paper. The paper had the Ekaterina symbol on it, and the words: _3 clumps of Antarctic Moss_ were written in beautiful handwriting. "ALRIGHT!" Dan cried out, then quickly hushed it as Nellie stirred. "Hold on, there's writing on the back of this paper." Amy pointed out before Dan accidentally lost it in all the garbage on the floor.

"Yes, Daniel, you stupid oaf, hold on." A silky British voice assaulted their ears, and they both looked up from the piece of paper to see Ian and Natalie Kabra, holding identical guns and both having wicked grins on their faces. The same thought occurred to Dan and Amy at exactly the same time. _Who was steering the plane?_

**Oooh...Cliffy! Well, I hope you all enjoyed the first chapter, the next one will be posted very soon...But anyway, I am a totally new author, and very nervous of what you all will think, so please give me your honest opinion on my story. Thanks!**


	2. Chapter 2

**People, I'm SO sorry I couldn't update sooner. My father confiscated my laptop, and I wasn't able to update without it. Sorry, this chapter is kinda boring, but don't worry! There WILL be more action in later chapters…. Read on!**

**Chapter 2**

"W-w-wait-t," Amy stuttered out, terrified. A look of amusement passed on Ian's face, and Dan bristled.

"Oh, yeah? How are you going to live when this plane crashes?" Dan asked them, fury creeping into his voice.

Natalie and Ian exchanged an exasperated look, and Ian told Dan in a calm voice, "We installed an autopilot feature which allows the plane to maneuver itself, but it only lasts for about 10 minutes. We are also wearing parachutes." They turned slightly to show off the thin backpacks.

"Now, are you going to give us the clue, or do we need to pry it from your cold, dead, fingers on the ground?" Natalie asked them both swiftly. Dan glanced back at Nellie, hoping she was still asleep, but Nellie was wide-awake, watching them, no fear in her eyes.

Dan glared at Natalie, and he just noticed that she was-actually, she was really pretty. He shook his head. Had he just thought that? At the moment, Natalie was glaring at them both, her forehead crinkled with concentration. _That's kind of….cute, I suppose,_ Dan shook his head, horrified with himself. No. He did not-he would never- have a crush on the female Cobra. No. Just, no. He righted himself, and instead looked back at Amy, She was trying to motion something behind her back, something the Kabras wouldn't see. She looked like she was shaking something, brushing something back and forth. Of course!

"Well, Daniel? Are you going to give us the clue, or do we need to take it-with force, I might add- from you and your beaut-hideous sister?" Ian said hastily, trying to cover up his obvious blunder. Amy noticed, and blushed eight new shades of red.

"No-here," Dan sighed heavily and took out the small feather he had picked up on the Antarctic tundra, and used to steal the box from Nellie with. It was supposed to be a tern feather or something. "Here. One tern feather, put in."

Natalie snatched it from him, and for a moment, their hands touched, and a volt of electricity went up both their spines. They looked into each other's eyes, as brown met green, and for a second, it felt like time was holding its breath. Then, the moment was over as Natalie composed herself and walked back over to Ian. Ian looked regretfully at Amy, but did not say anything. He walked over to the emergency exit, and threw it open. "Nice doing business with you, you-" She tried not to look over at Dan, but their eyes did meet for less than a second, and she abandoned her search for something to insult them with. She and Ian both jumped out of the plane, with Amy and Dan triumphant for foiling them. Dan let out the breath he had been holding. He realized what had happened with Natalie, and at that moment, felt immensely happy.

Suddenly, Amy remembered the autopilot, and said frantically, "Nellie, take the wheel! The autopilot's only going to last for ten minutes, and we've probably been talking for fifteen!" She just took notice of the slight shaking of the plane, which she had assumed was just being confronted by the Kabras. Nellie got up lazily, smacking them both on the head as punishment for disobeying her, and went to the cabin to steer the plane.

Amy and Dan sat down on the horrible seats and grinned at each other, proud for having saved the clue. They both fell asleep, each dreaming of completely different things, such as the things they would do in Boston, and each of their own respective Kabra.

**And that's Chapter 2! You know, I'm not going to press you guys for reviews. I trust that from the goodness of my heart, (or whatever goodness is left in me,) that you people will review. Thank you all for reviewing already!**


	3. Chapter 3

**Wow, Music4evah, way to vent on my review page….But thank you anyway. I appreciate your comment. In the future, I may make a just Amy/Ian story for you. :)**** And thank you everyone else who reviewed! Oh, but wait….I have to mention some names first of all. (I'm sorry people, I had to resubmit my story, and the people's reviews below got wiped out.) **

FoxFace Zero-(My 1st reviewer on my first story!)

Selina1

Amyfan97

Joelle8

nameless

Chapter 3

Dan sat up and rubbed his eyes. He was still for a moment, trying to remember where he was, but then realized that he was on a ratty plane 20,000 feet off the ground, had fallen asleep, and had dreamed about Natalie Kabra.

Dan shook his head again, trying to get rid of Natalie. She wouldn't go away. To get her out of his mind, he looked at the piece of paper with the clue and puzzle. He hadn't got a chance to do that when the Kabras came in.

"Hey, munchkins!" Nellie's voice rang out from the front where she was steering the plane. "I got snacks in Caracas! You guys slept through the whole refueling! And, I met this really cute guy that had an adorable Spanish accent, and he told me that I had really pretty hair and-"

Dan rolled his eyes. These talks about Nellie's boyfriends seemed to go on for ages.

Dan took out his laptop and went to to try and find something about Antarctic moss.

_**Flora of Antarctica**_

_The climate of Antarctica does not allow extensive vegetation. A combination of freezing temperatures, poor soil quality, lack of moisture, and lack of sunlight inhibit plant growth. As a result, plant life is limited to mostly mosses and liverworts. The autotrophic community is made up of mostly protists. The flora of the continent largely consists of lichens, bryophytes, algae, and fungi. Growth generally occurs in the summer, and only for a few weeks at most._

It seemed quite odd that when-and if- he went he went back to school, he could tell everyone that he had set foot on every continent, and more than 40 countries. Such a short period of time to explore the world. And-wait- Dan shook his head. Both he and Amy had both been struggling to understand the concept of being the most powerful humans on the planet. More powerful than Bill Gates? Steve Jobs? Miley Cyrus and Justin Bieber? It was difficult to grasp. _Oh, well,_ he thought. _One things at a time. Now, start figuring out that clue. _

He rooted around in his pocket and found the paper with the clue on it, and stared.

His heart seemed to stop in place, and he took in a raspy breath. The message on the back of the clue was written in his mother's, his father's, and his beloved grandmother, Grace's handwriting. They must have met together and written this.

_**37-25-27-35. 38-39-37-29.**__ 20-25. 38-25-21-20-25-27. 17-39-26. 39-26-16. 9-18-26-38._

_**A treasure so deep,**_

_**It cannot be defined.**_

_**The 39**__**th**__** Clue,**_

_**A treasure to be mined.**_

_**When you reach it,**_

_**All will be well,**_

_**And in your heart you will feel,**_

_**Not broken in heaven or hell. **_

_**For this magic can be felt inside,**_

_**It may take you on a wild ride.**_

Amy had woken up, and was staring at the paper over Dan's shoulder. "So, figured it out yet, math ninja?" She said jokingly. Then she looked at the paper, bent and stained, and saw the handwriting. Dan could hear by her breathing that her heart had stopped as well.

"Mom. And Dad. And Grace. They wrote this, to help us find the 39th clue." He said finally, in a soft whisper. The first words were Grace's, written in a strong, yet somehow, they were written jokingly, as if she had been laughing when she wrote this. Then their mother's cheerful, purple-pen writing. Their father's narrow, thin writing made up the rest of the numbers, which was followed by an unknown writing that was written carelessly, as if the person that had written the poem had been in a hurry. Oddly, it was similar to Grace's writing, but they knew she would never rush anything if she didn't have to.

The silence was broken when Amy's voice said, "Well, we can think about it later. The other teams are on their-what, 18th clue? We seriously need to relax."

Dan nodded halfheartedly. He knew, deep, deep, down, that Amy was right.

"Yeah, whatever." He said, trying to sound casual.

They landed 4 hours later in the Boston Logan International Airport, and Dan actually burst out of the plane and kissed the ground. He made a face.

"I didn't know it was going to taste like feet." He complained, wiping his mouth.

Amy's eyes sparkled with laughter. "Dan, Natalie isn't going to be very happy that she has to complete with the ground!"

Dan's mouth fell opened, and he blushed. "What are you talking about? I don't like Natalie." He asked, trying to put some scorn in his voice.

Amy's eyes sparkled even more, and she laughed. "Oh, yeah, no one could see the little moments you had on the plane, right? We all went blind for those couple of seconds."

"Better her than you with the male Cobra!" He shot back, and watched with satisfaction as she turned red.

"What?!? I don't l-l-like I-I-I-Ian." She said, stammering. But then her face turned laughing again, and she said, "Oh, so you admit that you would like to be with her. Inter-r-resting." She said, drawing out the word 'interesting'.

Right then Nellie came over and broke up the fight, glancing at Dan for a couple seconds, then she and Amy looked at each other, exasperated.

Dan glared at them both, furious. He tried to change the topic, and neither of them noticed. "So, where are we going? If we go to Aunt Beatrice's, she'll turn us over to the police."

Nellie took out her iPod casually, and said, "Oh, we're going to my house, 'kay? Just be cool with my dad, he's been kind of psyched to finally meet you two after you've almost got me killed several times."

"Cool." Dan remarked.


	4. Chapter 4

**Hey, everyone, I posted a short one-shot on Hamilton/OC, so go check that out! **

**I'm trying to beat the clock ticking for when 39 Clues book 9 comes out, so forgive me if these chapters are boring. **

Chapter 4

Dan took out the paper and looked at it again. They were in a taxi on the way to Nellie's house.

He and Amy had discussed how the numbers could be arranged, and now they were beginning to feel severely jet-lagged.

They had already agreed that the numbers stood for letters, and they converted the numbers to the letters in the alphabet that corresponded to each letter.

"There's this one code called the Caesar Cipher, and it was invented by Julius Caesar."

"Like, in Caesar salads?"

Amy rolled her eyes. "No, dweeb, he was a famous Roman military and political leader who lived from 100 BC to 44 BC."

Dan was still scrutinizing the paper carefully. "So, how does this Caesar Cipher thingy work?" He asked her, already going through mental files in his brain, trying to find an answer for the code.

"Its one of the easiest codes in the world. Caesar created it to try and fool his enemies, but he underestimated their intelligence and they found out everything." She told him, her brain already remembering more facts she had learned from history class and books she had read about him. "You look at the letter, and convert it into the letter that's three above it, so 'A' will become 'C', 'B' will become 'D', and so forth and so on." Amy explained.

Dan tried out that method, and came up with nothing. "Its all just useless letters that don't mean anything. " He told her, his brow wrinkled in frustration. His long blonde hair fell into his eyes, and he flicked it away impatiently.

"Well," Amy began, an idea forming in her mind, "What if it's not 3 ahead? What if it's something else? Okay so what's an important number?" She asked Dan.

"7? 100? 39?" He guessed.

"39! That could be it! Try that, Dan!" Amy shouted.

He tried the first letter, which became a 'C'. The next was a 'O'. Next was a 'M'. 'E'. 'T'. 'O'. 'B'. 'O'. 'S'. 'T'. 'O'. 'N'. Then there was a comma. 'D'. 'A'. 'N'. 'A'. 'N'. 'D'. 'A'. 'M'. 'Y'.

They both said the answer together. "Come to Boston, Dan and Amy." They looked at each other, awestruck. They were in that place for a vacation!

"Well, what does the poem mean?" Amy asked Dan, thinking.

"Ugh, I don't know. Let's figure that out later." Dan told her, sounding tired.

"LITTLE DUDES!" Nellie's voice rang out from the front of the taxi, where a layer of glass had separated the front and back seats.

Amy and Dan both looked up, startled.

"WE'RE HERE! LOOK OUT THE WINDOW!" Her voice reached them again, and Dan and Amy both fought each other to look out the left window to see.

What they saw made their jaws drop. The house- no, wait, palace was more like it, as it was 5 stories high and was probably set on over 500 acres. From the car, they could see a basketball court, a tennis court, a swimming pool, several beautiful statues that looked Greek, and there were six cars; two Porches, a Ferrari, a Mini-Cooper, two Lamborghinis, and a Bugatti.

"Whoa." Dan and Amy breathed together.

"Come on, guys, let's go in!" Nellie told them excitedly. Dan and Amy grabbed their bags and ran for the door.

After Nellie had given them a tour of the outside of the mansion, which consisted of 550 acres, she took them inside, where a tall butler greeted them, and took their shabby bags and coats and nodded, saying, "Master Dan and Miss Amy, I shall take your bags up to your room, and I was told to tell you that Mr. Gomez asks your company for dinner tonight. I hope you accept." He said curtly.

Dan had a huge grin on his face, which made Amy's heart ache. She hardly ever saw him grin anymore like that. "Yeah, Chives, we'll be there." He told the butler, trying to remain cool, and act casual, as if he saw this kind of a house everyday.

"Very good, Master Dan. I shall call you when dinner is ready." The butler walked off, and Dan and Amy turned to look at Nellie.

"Nellie! How did you afford all of this?" Dan asked her looking around.

"I- uh- I –just…" Nellie said, stammering. Then she sighed. "Okay, I'll tell you. My dad is pretty rich, and I don't need to work for a living, but I do anyway."

Amy was confused. "But why do you babys-I mean, au-pair us?" She said quickly as Dan glared at her for saying 'babysit'.

"All in good time, little munchkins." Nellie told them playfully, ruffling Dan's hair. "Now, I need to go make a phone call." She said, walking away. Then she turned back around. "Oh, and if you see someone you _know_, don't freak out. Just-stay calm." She said, walking to- an elevator? They had elevators in their house?

Dan frowned. "Who are we going to meet?" He said, looking around once more. Then he caught sight of a room labeled, 'Game Room'. He took off running, and at once Amy heard Dan's shout of joy. Amy smiled and went off to find the library.

She started walking down the hall, and five minutes later, she realized she was hopelessly lost in the long hallways and identical looking rooms. She tried to find a butler to help her, and as she crossed another door, that unlike the others, was open. She peered inside, and thought she saw a flash of black.

She shook her head. She must be suffering from exhaustion.

She caught sight of the butler Dan had nicknamed Chives, and she ran to ask him where the library was. He pointed her in the right direction, and she thanked him and walked off. She found the library, and walked in.

It was-it was- _beautiful. _There was no other word to describe it. There must have been 50 shelves, each 10 feet across, and 5 feet tall, crammed with books of each subject. They had been organized according to author, and Amy picked a random one off the shelf. _Aesop's Fables, _it read. She put it back and soon found a huge, ratty looking book that was 4 times as big as any of the others. The binding on the side read, _Law and Court. _

She picked it off, thinking it may be interesting. She allowed herself a small smile as she thought about how Dan would react if she made him read this book.

When she opened it, she noticed the inside had been carved out, and 4 almost-identical books sat inside. _It was a genius hiding place, _she realized. No one would ever think to open a boring book like this, and thus, it was safe. The books were labeled. She picked one up, and saw a beautiful yellow spiraling drawing on the front. She looked closer, and realized it was a dragon. It couldn't just be a coincidence. She took out the rest of the books, and the next had another spiraling drawing that was created in red. It was two snakes curling around an 'L'. If you didn't look close enough, you wouldn't be able to recognize the symbols. The next was a spiraling drawing in blue. A blue bear. The last was a swirly drawing in green. A green wolf.

Ekaterina. Lucian. Tomas. Janus.

The four branches of the Cahill family. But wait- there was something else inside. Or so it looked like. The pages of the original book were all gone, and the inside back cover of the book looked like it was bulging slightly. _There could be something hidden inside, _she thought. Curiosity overcame her, and looked around for something to slice the inside open with. She went over to the large cherry wood desk that sat at the back, and opened one of its drawers, where she found a letter opener. _Perfect. _She carefully cut off the inside, trying not to damage whatever was inside. Finally, the back was cut open, and she saw another book that looked similar to the four other, except that the spiraling drawing was done in brown this time. She leaned in and saw the familiar 'M' that was a huge part of her life. The Madrigal symbol. She opened it eagerly, and was about to read the first page, when a voice interrupted her.

"Well, well, well. What have you got there, Amy?" The voice asked. Amy internally groaned as she turned around, for there stood the spawn of Satan, gorgeous Ian Kabra, heir to the Lucian throne, assassin, jerk, and heart breaker.


	5. Chapter 5

**Umm, well, here's the next chapter, uh, sorry if the characters are OOC. We're nearing the part of Madeleine!**

**On with the story!**

Chapter 5

"Oh, uh, nothing, Cobra, just go slither back into your hole." She said, trying to sound vicious, but when it came out, it sounded horribly feeble.

"Relax, Amy, I don't want anything. Can we have a truce?" He asked her, holding out a hand to shake. She stood up, and looked behind him to make sure his sister wasn't around. Cautiously, she grasped his hand, and almost gasped when she touched him. His touch was warm and cool at the same time, and Amy had a strong urge to never let go. Ian looked the same way, and when she quickly snatched her hand back again, he almost looked disappointed.

"What do you want?" She asked him flatly, crossing her arms across her chest. "And what are you doing in Nellie's house?"

"Why, just staying here. Your nanny offered to house me here." He told her earnestly.

"Why would you need housing? You're rich too." She asked dully.

"Er- not anymore." He told her, sounding embarrassed. "In Antarctica, when you gave us the false clue, we gave it to our mother, but she was furious that we had been tricked so easily, and called us quite a few _unpleasant_ names, and she kicked us out." He caught sight of the look on Amy's face, which consisted of pity, and he said quickly, "It doesn't matter, I'm glad to be away from the hag." He said, smiling.

Amy quite like Ian's easy smile, and felt horrible for being the reason that he had been insulted by his own mother.

"I'm very sorry, Ian," She said quietly. She shook her head. Why was she apologizing to this creep of a viper when it wasn't even her fault?

Ian smiled once more, and shook his head.

A thought just occurred to Amy, and she asked him quickly, "Is Natalie here as well?"

Ian nodded, and Amy giggled softly, remembering her brother's affections.

Ian looked confused, but let it go. He smiled fondly at her, and Amy blushed deep red, to which Ian's amber eyes sparkled.

"Oh, and Amy, I wanted to ask you something." He told her, serious once more.

"What?" Amy asked nervously, all laughter gone.

"Could we form an alliance?" He asked her sincerely. Amy wanted desperately to say yes, but she thought about how Dan would react if she told him that she had made an alliance with the Kabras, as neither of them had forgotten South Korea, where the Kabras had left them to die in a cave.

"Ah, I see you're remembering South Korea," Ian told her seeming to read her mind, "I want you to know this: 10 minutes after you left the cave, Natalie and I came back to get you out, for neither of us had the heart to leave you there." Amy thought he was telling the truth, but he could just as easily be lying.

She started to shake her head no, but Ian pressed on. "Do you think in Australia, when my mother was going to feed you to the sharks, that Hamilton swooped in at exactly the right moment, saving you? No, that was me. I pleaded him to keep watch on the three of us, because I believed my mother would do something to harm you. Or in Africa, when Proffesor Bardsley came in just before Isabel tried to hurt you. There has always been someone there to help you when I have tried to harm you, intentionally or not. And have I ever physically hurt you? Emotionally, perhaps." He said earnestly, his voice cracking on the word _emotionally_. His eyes betrayed how he felt, filled with remorse and sadness.

"I'm sorry Ian, I don't think we can have another alliance." She told him, and saw how Ian's face fell, which seemed to break her heart in two. She stepped forward and gave him a quick hug, just because he seemed so forlorn. She was about to step away when Ian pulled her close and wrapped his arms around her. She buried her face in his shoulder, taking in his expensive cologne, and how nice he smelled. They stood there, entwined, arms around each other, until they heard a chuckle come from the door. They both whipped around and saw Nellie, listening to her iPod, apparently having seen the whole scene.

"I came to call you for dinner, but if you're…busy, I can come later." She told them, smiling. Ian and Amy both turned fiery red, and Ian immediately stuttered, (which was weird because Amy had never heard him do it) "Uh-y-y-yes, Ms. Gomez, we're, uh, coming." He glanced over at Amy, then walked out, his face still scarlet. Amy glared at Nellie. "Nothing happened. We just hugged, because-he was really sad, okay?" Amy took two steps forward, then turned back to face Nellie. "If you mention this to Dan, I will flush your iPod down a toilet." She told Nellie furiously. Then she stalked out. 

Nellie shook her head, annoyed. Teenagers.


	6. Chapter 6

**Chapter 6**

Dan had huge circles under his eyes when he came to breakfast the next day. He had spent all night in the huge game room trying to the highest score on all of the games. Then he had walked out, and passed Natalie Kabra on the way to his room. He thought he was hallucinating, and going insane until Amy explained the situation.

Natalie must have thought that he looked so stupid running away from her at top speed.

Dinner had gone uneventfully, until Natalie had asked him to pass the salad, and he had accidently spilled it on her. Dan had winced, thinking she would explode about her designer clothes, and how Prada did NOT look good with ranch on it, but instead, she did the complete opposite. She smiled, then turned red as everyone looked at her, disbelief etched on their faces.

She then quietly excused herself, and came back 10 minutes later in fresh clothes.

What had happened to her?

Dan shook his head. The female mind was complicated.

He passed Amy on the way to the dining room, and muttered a 'Good morning'. She mumbled it back, and together, they set off to get some breakfast.

On the way, they passed Ian and Natalie walking together to the dining room as well, and both the Cahills and the Kabras turned deep red as they looked at each other. 'Good mornings' were said, while the speakers were looking at the walls, their shoes, their nails, and the girl.

Dan found himself between his sister and Natalie, and Natalie was squished between her brother and Daniel.

_That oaf, _Natalie thought, _who would ever like him? Certainly not me. He's stupid, ugly, clumsy, and-and-and…._ She couldn't think of anything else, and her stomach was protesting to what the first two things that Daniel Cahill was. He was quite cute when he had accidently spilled the salad on her, and so what? Natalie couldn't believe she was saying this, but _they were only clothes._

She had changed quite a bit in 3 years. She was not the pompous, fashion-obsessed brat she had been when they had started this hunt. It was incredible, but ever since she had visited India for the 17th clue, she had seen how little people had, and she had tried to be less shallow and more grateful for what she had.

Dan felt uncomfortable, and-wait. Did Amy just look over at Ian and grin? Maybe he was just imagining things. That could-_would_ never happen. He wouldn't allow that scorpion to manipulate his sister again. She had shed enough tears already.

They finally arrived at the dining room, after getting lost 3 times, where Amy and Ian had fought over which way to go, and, finally, Ian led them to the dining room where Amy looked furious that he had been right.

Nellie smiled at all of them, her gaze lingering on Amy and Ian for a moment, then on Dan and Natalie, then turning back and stuffing bacon in her mouth.

"So…" Ian began awkwardly.

"What are we going to do here?" Amy asked, looking around. "I'm getting quite bored."

"Well, we can go fly my plane, then go go-kart racing, then go to some fancy restaurant and get lunch." Nellie told them, looking calm.

Dan looked ecstatic. _At heart he'll always be a kid_, Amy thought.

They ate breakfast, and Ian left to go to the library, while Natalie left to her room.

That was when Amy and Dan exploded.

"Why did you invite the Cobras here? They'll try to kill us, they're evil, homicidal maniacs! And they'll steal our clue!" Dan shouted, while Amy screamed, "Why did you invite them here? They're-they're-they're…"

Nellie held up two hands, trying to get them to stop shouting. They both quieted down, and she looked carefully at that moment at both of them. "Well, you both can't say that you don't-er-_enjoy _their company." For the bazillionth time, Amy and Dan both turned red.

"That is beside the point!" Amy said furiously, still crimson. "Why did you invite them here? You knew they would make trouble!"

"Okay, I told you guys I would tell you the truth, and I will." Nellie looked them both in the eyes and took a deep breath in. "Four years ago, I met you two, when your great-aunt decided to hire me to be your au pair."

Two pairs of confused eyes watched her, as she dug around her backpack searching for something.

"Here." She handed Dan a piece of paper, and continued her story. "Did you think it was pure coincidence that I, your au pair, knew how to fly a plane? Was skilled in combat? Knew how to speak several different languages? Had powerful family members?" She looked angry for a moment, but didn't say anything. "No, nothing in this family is a coincidence. " She paused as Dan opened his mouth to say something, having read the paper.

"Uh, Nellie? You-uh-you talk like you're a Cahill too." Dan said nervously, his alarmed green eyes shooting up and down from the paper.

Nellie grimaced. "Not a Cahill, Dan. The Madrigal leader's niece."

**DUN DUN DUN! Reviews are greatly appreciated! Thank you!**


	7. Chapter 7

**Chapter 7**

The Man In Black watched the two Cahill children's expressions from his office 5,000 miles away.

He almost grinned. He watched Amy, a look of disbelief on her face. Ah, how she looked like darling Grace, with her almost identical features at that age. Even though Grace was 12 years his elder, they were immeasurably close. The almost-grin began to fade as he remembered that Grace was gone, never to return.

When she had died, the title and position of the Madrigal leader had been passed onto him, putting lots of pressure on the boy who was interested in nothing but arts and reading.

He stood up and stretched, giving a grunt of displeasure. He was not the man he used to be 35 years ago. His body may have aged considerably, but not his mind. He was still able to shoot people, do espionage, and lead missions. He would never be too old for that.

And his age had not stopped him from planting cameras in his dearest niece's house.

He shook his head. Nellie was given too much freedom. The Man In Black tipped his head to the side and considered. She had done very well on select missions, and he supposed she deserved the freedom.

The Man In Black knew what to do.

He strode over to his intercom, and pressed down. "X, I need you to book me a one-way ticket to Boston."

Time to visit his darling niece.

"WHAT?" Dan and Amy both shouted at exactly the same moment.

"You're-you're-you're-you're…" Amy stuttered.

Dan took up her place. "YOU'RE A MADRIGAL?" He yelled at her.

Nellie slumped in her seat. She had thought the kids would be calmer about it. She had tried to leave them hints wherever she could, but they never grasped them.

She tried to tell them the information that she had been itching to tell them ever since she met them. But Grace had always looked fondly upon Nellie, and said, _No, dear. Not quite yet. They're still quite young. _Then she had looked Nellie straight in the eyes with her steely brown-eyed gaze._ Promise me, _she had said, _that you will take care of them. _How could Nellie refuse to? If not now, then when?

She tried again. "Look, I-" She broke off as Natalie hobbled through the door, muttering something about shoes and broken glass. Dan leapt up at once and offered to go help her. She smiled at him, and he smiled back. Nellie felt her heart warm as she witnessed what Grace had predicted years ago. _That Dan, _she had said with a chuckle, _he'll grow up to be just like his father. Only chasing one girl, even if it takes him a lifetime to accomplish. _Then they had both laughed, like friends.

When Dan and Natalie had exited, (Dan shooting Nellie a glance that clearly meant, _this isn't over_, then turning to Natalie once more), Ian had walked through the door, offering his arm to as Amy and asking if he could have the great pleasure to accompany her to the library. She had smiled, and they walked out together, chatting about their own things.

Her butler walked in, and offered Nellie a smoothie on a silver platter with a little umbrella in it. "Thanks, Chives." She said smiling.

**So, a little was revealed in this chapter….The secrets are continuing! Thank you for reviewing! But please, could you give me a few more reviews? Just to keep my spirits up as this week is finals week, and I'm going to be quite stressed.**


	8. Chapter 8

**Chapter 8**

The Man In Black loved airplanes. They made him feel like a child again. Hopping into Grace's plane, they would soar like birds, high above the ground.

He always made sure to sit in a window seat so he could see the little cars and people from so high above. As usual, he was dressed in his regular black attire, so nobody could make out his face. True, it had been quite a while since-since-

No. Thinking about it would only make the memories flood back in vivid color.

_Grace crying. Sobbing. Asking, _why, why?

_His parents dead on the floor. The walls colored with their blood. _

The Man In Black clutched his head, trying to squeeze the memories out. He calmed down and stared out the window once more.

Dan stared at the piece of paper. He stared at it, hoping that something would come shooting up from his mind, but nothing came. …_magic felt inside…not broken in heaven or hell…in your heart you will feel…_

Dan tossed the paper aside and lay down on his bed. He felt frustration, anger, jealousy, and happiness, all bubbling together inside of him.

Frustration towards the puzzle.

Anger towards the Kabras.

Jealousy when Natalie had told him all about her boyfriend in London. _He's handsome, and smart, and popular, and a really good polo player…_Her words echoed through Dan's skull, and he felt anger coming up. He was all those things-except being a polo player. He tried to mount one of Grace's horses once, a small pony named Sweetie, who was a tiny grey pony, and the second Dan got on her, she bucked him off. He was hesitant of horses from that moment on. She also gave him broken arm number 3.

Happiness- when she walked past him. When she laughed at something he said. When she would smile at him. When she simply looked at him.

_No, don't think about her. Focus on the poem. You need to finish this competition for Grace, and mom, and dad, and Amy. _He told himself.

He stood up, clutching the paper tightly, and went to Amy's room.

She was sitting on her bed, reading a random book, and frowning, as though she didn't understand it.

"Hey." He told her. "I was looking at the puzzle, and I can't understand it at all."

"Here, let me see." She said, holding out her hand for the paper. He handed it to her. She took it, and stared at it, her face scrunched up.

"So…" Dan began casually. "How do you feel about Ian?" He asked, trying to remain cool. Amy looked at him, perfectly fine.

"Oh, yeah, he's…nice, I guess." She told him, reading the poem again and again. "Do you like Natalie as much as I like Ian?"

"What? I-I-I don't _love _Natalie. Pfft." He sputtered, putting emphasis on the word 'love'. He didn't sound convincing at all.

"Let's see…"Amy murmured. "What could it be?" She continued.

"Is it a metal?" Dan interrupted her pondering. "A liquid? Solid?" He continued.

"Hey, Dan," Amy said suddenly. "What was on that paper that Nellie gave you when she told you when she was Madrigal?"

"Oh. That." Dan said darkly. "It said- Well, I remember it from memory. This is what it said,":

_Dear Mr. Cahill & Ms. Green,_

_Your daughter, Grace, is an excellent field agent, and we would like to recruit your son, Fiske, as well in the Madrigal branch. We are fully aware that he is of the Janus branch, as he is an excellent artist, but we have full confidence that he will function just as well as a Madrigal. As you may know, the only way to transfer to the Madrigal branch from another is to find your way through a maze that is located in South America. If you oppose, we shall have to take him by force. We have many agents in law enforcement, and they will make it seem as though he was simply kidnapped by ordinary people. We hope you consider our offer. _

_Truly Yours,_

_Jonathon Voratate_

Dan took a deep breath in, as the letter was extremely hard to recite due to its contents.

"Well, now you know." Dan grimly told his sister.

"That's horrible! Poor Fiske! His parents must have declined the offer, and the Madrigal agents had kidnapped him. I remember Grace telling me about Fiske, and she actually showed me this newspaper article that reported him missing. Poor guy, all he wanted to do was be an artist." Amy said, horrified at the cruelty of the Madrigals.

"But I never knew Fiske was a Janus." Dan said thoughtfully.

Suddenly, Dan saw the doorknob turning, and strode over to the door to confront whoever was at the door. As if the person sensed his presence, the doorknob froze, and Dan heard footsteps moving quickly away. He yanked open the door, trying to follow whomever had been listening, but-where did they go? The hallway that they must have gone down into ended in a dead end. The layout of the house made it impossible to go anywhere else. He walked back to his room, thoroughly confused.

"I couldn't find them. How much do you think they heard?" Dan asked Amy worriedly. He then turned white, remembering the conversation that they had before talking about the Clue. If it had been Natalie-oh, no. Amy noted his concern and spoke up.

"Well, we can't dwell on that fact now, let's go downstairs and have lunch." Amy told him shrugging.

"So, if the Clue is in Boston, where do you think it'll be?" Dan asked her, in his mind going through all the most famous places in Boston. Two places stood out in particular. Fenway Park, where Grace had taken Dan to see his first baseball game, and where he had caught the ball that the opposing team had hit into the stands, making the Sox fans shout with pleasure, and Grace to beam with pride. The other place was Grace's mansion, where most of the happiest moments in Dan's life had taken place. He just realized that since they were already in Boston, they might as well pay a visit to the mansion.

"Hey, Dan," Amy said, interrupting his thoughts. "I was in the library yesterday, and I discovered this huge book-" She was stopped short as Dan covered his ears and tried toning her out. "LA LA LA LA LA! I DON'T WANT TO HEAR ABOUT ALL THE BOOKS IN THE WORLD AT THE MOMENT, AMY!" He sang, causing Amy to wince. Such loud noise at close range would surely cause her to go deaf.

She smacked him, causing him to drop his hands to his sides and listen to her.

"Listen, dweeb," Amy told him urgently, dropping her voice. "I found this large book that contained smaller books inside, and one of them was about the Madrigals."

Dan's face was grave. "Now we'll finally know what happened."

**Ahhh….Next chapter….WE FIND OUT MADELINE'S STORY! I'm so excited!**


	9. Chapter 9

**Chapter 9**

"Here." Amy dropped the huge book on law into Dan's hands. He opened it, finding the 5 books inside. He removed the Madrigal one slowly; beads of sweat forming on his forehead.

He opened the book, giving Amy a glance. She nodded, and he started reading.

"In 1539, Olivia and Gideon Cahill gave birth to quadruplets, an extremely rare occurrence. She named them Thomas, Katherine, Luke, and Jane. Olivia loved them with all her heart, and fussed over her children, sending them each to the finest schools at the time. Over time, each child developed unique talents, causing their mother to love them even more. 3 years after the children's birth, Olivia discovered a basket on her doorstep with a baby girl inside. She took the girl into her family, naming her Madeline. She loved Madeline almost as much as she loved her own children, but the 4 other children detested Madeline, hurting her without their mother noticing. Madeline always admired her older siblings, always trying for their approval. When the time came to send Madeline to school, she excelled in everything, overshadowing her siblings. She could beat Thomas in every sport, she was able to get better grades in every subject than Katherine, and she always led the family better than Luke, and strategized better, and was a much better artist and musician than Jane. Soon, she was the favorite child of Olivia and Gideon, and realizing this, her siblings soon began to shun her. Madeline became very lonely, and soon ran away, causing her parents to be struck with grief, and her siblings to rejoice. Soon, all 4 siblings had gotten older, becoming apprentices to professions that they enjoyed. One night, the Cahill house caught fire, being set by some men in black cloaks." Dan stopped reading a moment, and sent Amy a glance.

Amy shook her head, ashamed of her branch founder's siblings and the way they treated their sister.

Dan continued reading. "That night, Madeline returned to her parent's house, horrified at what her friends had done. Madeline had recruited a group of close friends, naming them 'Madrigals' based off her name, and these friends had been shocked at how her family had treated her, setting fire to Olivia and Gideon's house and riding away. Madeline had come to try and stop them from doing it, but to no prevail. In the fire, Madeline's adoptive father had died, trying to save a possession of his, being an alchemist and trying to save a formula he had created to make eternal life. Luke, Katherine, Thomas, and Jane all blamed Madeline for the fire, taking their mother with them and leaving her alone.

"Madeline was heart-broken. She believed the fire was her fault, and she entered the burnt house, trying to find her father's body. She found him in the family library, clutching a piece of paper. He had gotten the paper, but died trying to get out. She took the paper, reading it, and being shocked at what it was. There was a list of 39 clues on it, telling to mix them, creating the secret to eternal life. She spent the next 3 months trying to obtain the ingredients from all around the world, and created the formula, becoming immortal."

Dan and Amy were shocked at what they had read, both taking a deep breath in, and Dan passed the book to Amy, letting her read the rest.

She started in a shaking voice. "She then decided to pay her siblings a visit, having accumulated great riches. She traced them to a house in London, England and found that her mother had died 3 years previously. She found her sisters, Katherine and Jane living together, and asked what had happened to Thomas and Luke. Katherine and Jane were falling into poverty, barely able to pay to keep the house. They both apologized for the way they and treated Madeline when they were children, and Madeline forgave them, giving them a quarter of her money, which was a huge amount. She was told that Katherine and Thomas had quarreled, causing Jane and Luke to take sides. All of them had been searching for their father's paper, and that had caused the family to fight. She then found her brothers, and gave them a quarter as well, but did not share the formula to eternal life. She saw how this hunt had torn her family apart, and thought it unwise to give the immense power of the formula to one child. Eventually, each child formed a group of their own, becoming, respectively, the Tomas, Ekaterinas, Lucians, and Janus. After a few years, each sibling died, leaving Madeline alone. For almost 500 years, Madeline walked the Earth, using her father's formula, and changing her name every 70 years and moving to a new place. Eventually, in the 20th century, she chose the name: 'Grace Madeleine Cahill' and moved to Boston, Massachusetts."

"Oh my God." Dan's voice rang out from the silence that he and his sister had been holding.

"Keep reading." Amy urged her brother, eager to find out what happened next.

"Since Madeleine had taken the formula when she was 17, the law believed that she was too young to live on her own, even though she had been doing it for 500 years. She was adopted by Edith Green and James Cahill, who had a 5 year old son named Fiske. They were true Cahills as well, and descended from the Madrigals. She told them of her formula, and they forged a birth certificate that said she was born in 1929. Eventually, she stopped taking the formula, and aged normally. She went to Harvard College, met Nathanial Hartford, and had a daughter named Hope Cahill. She still possessed the formula, but kept it safe in case of an emergency."

"Wait, hold on." Amy said quickly. "Why did Grace- or Madeleine- pass on- if she had the secret to immortality?" Even after the years, it still pained both Cahill children to talk about their grandmother's death.

Dan grabbed the book from Amy and scanned the pages of the book. "It explains that as well." He said grimly. He said a few sentences from the book. "Eventually, Madeleine lost the formula page, and continued aging like a normal human. She contracted cancer, which was identified too late. Realizing she would die soon, Grace, or Madeleine, instituted a competition for a race to find all 39 clues once more, and have the secret that she possessed so many years ago. Her brother Fiske was-," Dan stopped reading, looking slightly alarmed.

"The page was torn out." Dan said angrily. "Ugh!" He stood up in frustration, and started pacing. He stopped, as a knock on the library door brought them both out of their thoughts.

"That's probably Nellie, telling us to eat something," Dan remarked, striding over to open the door.

He opened it quickly, and his jaw dropped at the person standing outside. Dressed completely in black, the man lifted his head to stare at them both.

Amy's heart started pounding as she recognized the man, and screamed loudly.

**Soooooo….Did you like it? It took me about 3 days to write it and look at the facts. I hope I'm correct, because I haven't read book 9 yet.**


	10. Chapter 10

**People, remember: "Keep on training so you're stronger and faster, just can't stop 'til your power I master, my plan is this: Gotta' Catch them all, get 'em in my Pokeball!"**

**With that sage advice, on with the story!**

**Chapter 10**

The loud shriek brought Nellie out of her deep sleep, which was saying something.

Nellie tumbled out of bed, wrenched the bedroom door open, and flew down the flight of stairs to the family library.

She stopped short, crashing hard into a figure. The figure turned their head towards her, and gave her a small smile.

His arm shot out to her, steadying her, while Dan gave a shout of outrage.

"GET YOUR HANDS OFF OF HER!" He yelled, while he stood protectively in front of Amy, guarding her from the unknown enemy, known to them as 'The Man in Black'.

"Ugh, Dan, I'm okay." Nellie groaned, holding her head.

"My dear Nellie, how have you been?" the Man in Black inquired politely, continuously glancing over at Dan and Amy, who both had horrified expressions on their faces.

"What the-what are you DOING HERE?" Nellie yelled at the man, clearly worried.

The Man in Black looked clearly amused. He began in a deep rumbling voice, "When Grace-," Nellie visibly winced at the name, "was alive, she instructed me to come meet Daniel and Amy when they had come close to finding the final clue."

"Who are you?" Dan shouted. "And how do you have a connection with our grandmother?"

The Man's lips quirked upwards, examining Nellie, then turning to her. "You honestly never told them?" He tsk-ed and shook his head. Nellie looked angry.

"Of course I never told them! How could I have?" She said loudly to him.

"Oh, so when did you plan on telling them? After the hunt?" He shot back, while Amy and Dan watched on, confused.

"What is he talking about?" Dan yelled at Nellie, who waved her hand dismissively at him.

"No, the boy deserves the right to know!" The Man in Black yelled at Nellie. "His grandmother, his aunt, you, have all kept these two children in the dark all this time! He is old enough to know!"

Nellie's lips tightened, and she looked away.

Dan turned to Amy, furious. "Do YOU know who he is?" He practically yelled at her.

Amy nodded, and stuttered, "F-F-Fiske Cah-h-hill, G-G-Grace's supposedly dead b-b-b-brother," She said quietly.

Dan looked taken back as he stared at the man.

"That's right." The Man in Black-Fiske-said, his face hardening. "Now, I have a question for you two; Do you honestly know who your au pair is?" He asked them.

"No-no-don't tell them!" Nellie said desperately, turning white.

"Nellie, they have to know sooner or later!" He yelled, about to face Dan and Amy.

"I choose later!" Nellie said, grabbing his arm.

"Well, I choose NOW!" Fiske wrenched his arm from her grip, and bellowed at the top of his lungs:

"_NELLIE GOMEZ IS YOUR SISTER!"_

**How was that? I quite enjoyed it. If it's not too much to ask, could you people review a bit more? It is a bit discouraging to see not many people have reviewed on my chapters, but I'm not going to go all, "Give me reviews all I won't give you chapters!" on you, but just-please review a bit more.**


	11. Chapter 11

**Chapter 11**

Dan marched to his room, furious.

_Why did _we _of all people have to be Cahills? Why couldn't we have just lived a normal life and not gotten all this danger and pain and- _

He broke off his thinking as he collided with something.

"Oomf!" He said falling backwards with a loud thud, the object landing on him.

But-the _object _was not an object; it was _Natalie Kabra._

She was lying on top of him, their faces inches apart, and extremely close.

"Owwww…My head hurts….", Natalie complained. She then realized her and Dan's situation, and turned a bright red. They stared at each other for a few seconds, then scrambled to detach themselves. They glanced at each, faces burning, and Natalie came over to him, and patted his arm, while whispering, "I'm, er, very sorry, Daniel." She then left leaving Dan confused and a bright shade of red.

_Nellie hung her head in shame after Fiske had said, "NELLIE GOMEZ IS YOUR SISTER!"_

_Fiske shook his head as he began explaining._

"_Well-not sister by blood, but by law." He said quietly. "Grace adopted her 7 years ago." _

_Amy began to cry softly, and Dan put his arm around her. _

"_Grace-was-", he stopped as Ian and Natalie appeared at the library's door. They both took one look at Fiske's face, and immediately pulled out weapons. _

_Ian looked past Nellie and Fiske to see a sobbing Amy and a red-faced Dan. _

_Ian strode over to Amy, standing close to her protectively, while pointing his gun at Fiske. Natalie came over to the other three and stood at Dan's side, glaring at Fiske, her eyes almost as sharp as the high heels she was wearing. Ouch. _

"_So, Fiske, what happened now?" Ian inquired fiercely. _

"_I just told them who I was-and who their au pair was," Fiske whispered._

_Ian looked thunderstruck and turned to Amy and Dan. Dan gave him a look of defiance, while Amy lifted her face, exposing her red face and tear streaks._

_Ian gently put an arm around her as well, as Dan tensed. Amy leaned against Ian, wiping her eyes._

_Dan could feel himself crumbling. All this information-all at one time- it was just too much. _

_Natalie saw Dan's expression and put a hand on his shoulder, as if to say, "It's okay."_

_Dan managed a small smile at her, then all four teenagers looked back at Fiske and Nellie, who stood by each other._

"_Talk. Now." Dan commanded, a steely edge to his voice. He looked at the woman he was proud to call his au pair, and suddenly felt furious with her. After almost 5 years of knowing her, she had forgotten to mention the fact that she was related to them. _

Just another secret kept in the dark from us, _Dan thought bitterly. _

"_My-my-my-my parents-weren't able to take care of me, when I was 12 years old, and-and-and Grace offered to take me off their hands, and they g-g-gave me willingly." Nellie stuttered, seeming like she was going to cry. "Grace-Grace- hired me, and told me to take care of you two on the hunt, which she knew you would compete in. She told me to n-n-never let any harm come to you." Nellie bowed her head, and they could all see the teardrops falling, probably ruining her make-up. _

_Dan had had enough. He walked out, not looking back. _

_After only a moment's hesitation, Natalie walked out as well. She was going to her room; only she took a different path that would get her there quicker. She got to her room, then went to the hallway, right for Dan's room. She had to comfort him. _

Not Mummy and Daddy's comforting, of course. When she was 4 years old, she had fallen and scraped her knee on the concrete path outside. When she ran to her mother and father in the study crying, they merely looked at her with disgust.

"Natalie, stop that disgraceful bawling at once! Is that any way for a Lucian to act?" Her father said, frowning at his daughter.

Natalie wiped her nose and ran to Ian.

She loved Ian. He was nice to her, even when mummy and daddy were not. She found Ian in his room, reading a book. Even though he was 3 years older, they were very close.

"I-I-Ian!" She howled. He put down the book and opened his arms. She ran into them, and started whimpering. "I-I-I hurt my knee!" She cried.

"Shhh, Nat. It's okay, Ian's here," He said comfortingly to her. He looked at her knee and smiled. He then took her to his bathroom sink and washed off her knee, putting a band-aid on it. He kissed the band-aid, smiling and saying, "All better!"

"Thank you, Ian!" She said, hugging him, then running off to her room and playing with her dolls.

What happened between us? _Natalie thought, not paying attention. _We used to be so clos- _She collided with someone, falling on top of them. _

"_Owwww…My head hurts," She complained, then took in whom she was lying on. _

_Dan. _

_Cute Dan._

_REALLY cute Dan, who was staring at her with an adorable blush._

_She scrambled to get off him, stopping to pat him on the arm, saying awkwardly, "I'm, er, very sorry, Daniel." She then ran off, cursing her stupidity. This boy had just had his life turned upside down, and all she could say was, "I'm sorry?" _

_For once in her life, Natalie realized she had lots to learn._

Dan sat in Amy's room, absentmindedly looking out the window, drumming his fingers on Amy's book.

"Dan! Stop that, it's annoying!" Amy had become much more frustrated since yesterday when Nellie had revealed the information to them. They had avoided dinner yesterday, and skipped breakfast and lunch today, with Natalie and Ian brining food up to them and leaving.

Dan simply murmured an apology, and stared at the paper with the clue.

"So…Um, Amy?" Dan asked his sister hesitantly. "Since we're in Boston, can we, can we, uh, go to Grace's mansion? You know, just, just, just, for old time's sake?"

They both knew that was a lie. There was a pause, and Amy said, "You know what, Dan? Yes, we will." She then continued reading _Pride and Prejudice _for the umpteenth time.

Dan lay down on the bed, pleased.,

A soft knock woke Dan up from the peaceful slumber he had fallen into.

"Daniel! Amy!" A whisper outside the door alerted them.

Dan walked to the door, yawning.

Natalie stood outside, holding two plates of food, looking around.

"Wha-oh, thanks, Nat," Dan said sleepily, not realizing what he said. Natalie blushed, pushed the two plates of food for dinner toward him, saying, "Good night, Dan."

**Awwww…We see a soft side of both Ian AND Natalie. Sorry that was kind of boring, I've got writer's block. **


	12. Chapter 12

**Chapter 12**

Ian watched from his room's window as Amy and Dan got into a cab to go to their grandmother's mansion.

Despite the fact that he knew no one could possibly harm them, he still felt a sense of unease in his stomach.

He strode to the table and picked up his phone. He would need a car, first of all.

"Hello? Is this Metro Cab?"

* * *

"'Ere," The cab driver stopped, looking back at his two passengers.

"Thanks." Dan said shortly, tossing a few bills at him. He and Amy both got out, staring at the ruins that were once their grandmother's house.

In almost 3 years, nobody had bothered to bulldoze the place and build over it, because, well, everybody knew of the crazy old lady that had once lived there.

The one with insane rules, tall gates, and a dungeon.

Yes, a dungeon, which someone had actually fallen down into.

Everybody stayed clear of that house.

Amy felt tears pricking at her eyes when she looked at the tall manor, remembering the memories that had taken place there.

There, by that tree, they had had a picnic, where an epic egg salad war had broken out.

And there, next to that bush, they had played hide-and-seek, when Dan had leaped into the bushes, hiding, and won the game when neither Grace nor Amy could find him. When he had emerged, he was scratching himself furiously, for he had jumped into a cluster of poison ivy.

Amy bit back a smile.

"Come on." Dan said softly, trekking up the hill to the house.

* * *

Amy kicked her foot lightly at the rubble in what used to be the kitchen of the house.

All around her were ashes and rubble, but once there was joy and laughter that had filled the kitchen, and the memories hit her hard.

_Baking cookies…Having long talks by the fire…Drinking the hot cocoa the way only Grace could make it, then having Dan choke on the forty marshmallows he had tried to fit inside his cup. _

Amy saw Dan walked desolately, his bleak eyes staring straight ahead and not straying from the path ahead of him.

He revived a little upon reaching the kitchen, and saw the refrigerator, which, though, on its side and slightly charred, was still intact. It seemed to be the only thing not incinerated in the fire.

He opened it carefully, and winced when the smell of spoiled food hit his nose.

"Ugh!" He winced, looking through the food, attempting to find something edible.

At last he dug out a small jar of honey, and remembering studying the Egyptians in History class, put a finger into the jar and brought it out, savoring the sweetness.

He put his finger in once more, and drew out something other than honey.

He examined the soggy object, and discovered it was a piece of paper, curled and covered in honey.

He called to Amy, attempting to lick the honey off the paper and trying to keep it intact at the same time. It was quite difficult.

Amy emerged from behind a wall, looking distant and feeling numb.

"I found something, Ames!" He yelled at her, calling her a ridiculous name, attempting to cheer her up.

"What did you find?"

"A piece of paper. I can't decipher what it says on it, though." Dan stepped forward to show her, and she took the paper curiously, holding it up to the light.

Dan took this opportunity to step away, and attempted to climb the stairs that led to the second floor. The stairs were crumbling away, and he realized that his last tangible memory of Grace was rotting away.

The atmosphere inside the room hit Dan hard, and he felt tears pricking his eyes as he stared at the bed his grandmother died in. He could almost feel her presence there, calling him forth. He sat down on the bed and took a deep breath in, and silence surrounded him.

After sitting there quietly for a few minutes, he stood up and began looking around the room.

He lifted the scorched carpet, and began coughing furiously when he accidentally inhaled the dust that came up. After stumbling around with bleary eyes, groping for his inhaler in his bag, he accidentally ran into the opposite wall.

He heard a strange whirring sound, but disregarded it, attempting to find his inhaler, the air in his lungs disappearing quickly.

After finding it and taking two large puffs on it, he looked around the room. There was still a strange clicking sound, accompanied by the whirring sound he had just heard. He poked around the room, and it was underneath a large armchair that he discovered the sound was emanating from.

He pushed it aside, and saw the wooden paneling that had just slid out of place when he bumped the wall, so it would be disguised.

The door was made of metal, and there was a large padlock on the handle which prevented the door from being opened. Dan turned over the padlock, and instead of a keyhole, there was a number code that needed to be dialed for it to open.

Dan analyzed the lock and found that the code consisted of 6 numerals, like a date. He quickly slid into place the first date he could think of, his own birthday. It clicked open smoothly, as if it had just been used.

He smiled sorrowfully, proud that Grace had used his own birthday as the combination, and regretful for ever doubting her.

He pulled open the door and a small niche sat there, holding two small objects covered in dust.

The first was a small leather-covered book, and as he flipped quickly through the pages he found it was in Grace's writing. The diary only had a few pages written in, and the rest were all diagrams and pictures that looked too complicated to figure out now.

The other object was a glass vial holding something furry-a mouse? A hamster? Dan shuddered at the rodent then opened the diary to the first entry:

_**April 29, 1929**_

_I have found my father's research journals. He explains, somewhat absently, that something horrible will happen soon. He says he has created a formula to stop this horrible occurrence, and says he will give it to my siblings and me when the time comes. Of course, it is too late now, and my siblings are already long gone._

_I am the only one left._

_**May 15, 1929**_

_For some reason, in his journals, he kept surprisingly accurate notes of the 'Black Death', as it was called when it terrorized the world in the 17__th__ century. Why is he so concerned about this disease? There is no chance of our family catching it. _

_**May 30, 1929**_

_The symptoms for the plague are listed below as he listed them in his notes._

-a very high fever

-delirium

-the victim begins to vomit

-muscular pains

-bleeding in the lungs

-mental disorientation

-one of the symptoms produced a blackening of the skin around the swellings, or buboes. The buboes were red at first, but later turned a dark purple, or black. When a victim's blood was let the blood that exuded was black, thick and vile smelling with a greenish scum mixed in it.

_Why is he so interested in this?_

_**June 11, 1929**_

_After finding another notebook, he has made mentions of storing some of the plague away for future use. It is the 20__th __century now, could that sample have survived hundreds of years? He has given cryptic meanings of the place he has stored it, and I must go back to my old home to find this sample. _

_**June 25, 1929**_

_The sample has been found-along with some of my father's writings concealed with it. _

_Oh, God, what is on these papers is horrible. _

_He has kept the sample as a weapon, to be released for war purposes. _

Imagine, _he writes, _if the sample were released in an enemy army-the army would be destroyed in less than a week, for the effects of the plague are quick. These '_invisible enemies' _would be the ultimate weapon against enemies, and would soon make the country using it the victor.

_Let us hope this is the only sample of the horrendous plague that survives. _

_I intend to destroy this sample as quickly as possible. If it falls into the wrong hands, we are all doomed. _

That was the last entry, and Dan closed the diary, shocked. He racked his mind trying to remember what disease affected many so terribly in history?

The answer hit him at once-the Black Plague. It had peaked in the mid-14th century, but had returned many more times, probably hitting Europe and Ireland during the 16th century during which the original Cahills lived.

Dan's mind was spinning as he picked up the small vial, which held a dead rat. The rat's face was twisted in a terrible grimace, as if it had died with pain. The small rodent was almost 500 years old, and was a living sample of the terrible disease which had ravaged millions. Dan held it at arm's length as he walked to the door to call Amy to what he found.

"AMY! COME UP! I FOUND SOMETH-," He bellowed, barely able to conceal his excitement. He was stopped short as a tall being stepped out from behind the wall and shot him quickly in the neck with a dart. Dan slumped to the floor immediately, dropping the precious vial. But the intruder caught it at once, before picking Dan up and throwing him over their shoulder. The person smiled slightly with satisfaction as they inspected the small sample within the glass.

"Thank you Dan Cahill," they whispered softly as they opened the window and leapt out of it, still holding an unconscious Dan.

* * *

Amy finally reached Grace's room and called out several times for Dan. She noticed the large armchair that had been pushed out of the way, and dropped to her knees to examine the hidden door in the floor, which was empty. She finally noticed the open window and saw a van driving away.

Amy turned cold with fear, and a large knot formed in her stomach.

"Dan." She whispered once, watching as the van sped away, most likely carrying her little brother.


End file.
